What is Intelligence?
Intelligence (in all cultures) is the ability to:
1.learn from experience
2. solve problems
3. use our knowledge to adapt to new situations.
In research studies, intelligence is whatever the
intelligence test measures. This tends to be
“school smarts.”
Intelligence: Ability or Abilities?
Is intelligence a single ability that manifests itself in multiple
ways? Some people have more of it and those people are
better at what they decide to do.
- If so all tests of ability for a single person should
correlate positively with each other.
- Some people seem to be good at everything, others
struggle with every thing.
- In School: Many students seem to stay close to
their average regardless of the subject (Are you
usually a B student? a C student?)
OR
Intelligence: Ability or Abilities?
Are there multiple intelligences that are independent of one
another, such that people who are artistically gifted may not
be verbally gifted?
- A person may have a gift for music or art but struggle
with math or history.
- Savant Syndrome (We’ll come back to this
momentarily)
- If so, does everyone necessarily have to have a
strength?
Intelligence Theories:
General Intelligence
Charles Spearman proposed that general
intelligence (g) is linked to many clusters that
can be analyzed by factor analysis (empirically
assessed).
•Supported by Specific abilities (s)
•Math, reading, writing, etc.
For example, people who do well on
vocabulary examinations do well on
paragraph comprehension
examinations, a cluster that helps
define verbal intelligence. Other factors
include a spatial ability factor, or a
reasoning ability factor.
Athleticism, like intelligence, is many things!
Savants
• People with savant
syndrome excel in
abilities unrelated to
general intelligence or
have limited mental
capacity.
– 4 out 5 are males
• Rainman
Contemporary Intelligence Theories:
Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) supports the idea
that intelligence comes in multiple forms.
Gardner notes that brain damage may diminish
one type of ability but not others.
Gardner proposes eight types of intelligences
and speculates about a ninth one — existential
intelligence. Existential intelligence is the ability
to think about the question of life, death and
existence.
Robert Sternberg
Sternberg (1985, 1999, 2003) also agrees
with Gardner, but suggests three
intelligences rather than eight.
Triarchic Theory:
1.
2.
3.
Analytical Intelligence: Intelligence that is assessed
by intelligence tests; success in school
Creative Intelligence: Intelligence that makes us
adapt to novel situations, generating novel ideas.
Practical Intelligence: Intelligence that is required
for everyday tasks (e.g. street smarts).
Raymond Cattell
• Crystallized Intelligence - ability
to absorb, retain, and access
information
– Playing School
• Fluid Intelligence - ability to
solve problems one has not seen
before and encode short term
memories quickly
– Speed and flexibility in problem
solving
Intelligence and Creativity
Creativity: is the ability to produce ideas that are both
novel and valuable.
Creative people tend to be divergent thinkers.
Convergent thinking - thinking that involves following a series of
logical steps with the goal of arriving at the “correct” answer.
Divergent thinking – thinking used to generate creative ideas by
exploring many possible solutions; spontaneous, unorganized
thought.
Creative people generate new, unexpected ideas first through divergent
thought. Ideas are then organized using convergent thought.
Intelligence and Creativity




It correlates somewhat with intelligence.
a high IQ alone does not guarantee
creativity.
personality traits that promote divergent
thinking are more important.
Sternberg identified five components of
divergent thinkers and creativity…
Imaginative
Thinking:
The ability to
see things in
novel ways.
Expertise: A well-developed
knowledge base.
Creative
Environment:
A creative and
supportive
environment
allows
creativity to
bloom.
creativity
Venturesome
Personality: A
personality that
seeks new
experiences with
perseverance.
Intrinsic Motivation: A motivation to be
creative from within.
Emotional Intelligence
Social intelligence is the know-how involved in
comprehending social situations and managing
oneself successfully
Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive,
understand, manage, and use emotions
(Salovey and others, 2005). The test of
emotional intelligence measures overall
emotional intelligence and its four components.
Emotional Intelligence: Components
Component
Description
Perceive emotion
Recognize emotions in faces, music
and stories
Understand emotion
Predict emotions, how they change
and blend
Manage emotion
Express emotions in different
situations
Use emotion
Utilize emotions to adapt or be
creative
Emotional Intelligence: Criticism
Gardner and others criticize the idea of emotional
intelligence and question whether we stretch this
idea of intelligence too far when we apply it to our
emotions.
Assessing Intelligence
Psychologists define intelligence testing as a
method for assessing an individual’s mental
aptitudes and comparing them with others using
numerical scores.
Psychometrics – measurement of human
characteristics
Alfred Binet
Alfred Binet and his
colleague Théodore
Simon practiced a more
modern form of
intelligence testing by
developing questions
that would predict
children’s future
progress in the Paris
school system.
Why he did it:
To identify students who
needed special help in
coping with the school
curriculum.
Lewis Terman
In the US, Lewis Terman
adapted Binet’s test for
American school children
and named the test the
Stanford-Binet Test. The
following is the formula of
Intelligence Quotient (IQ),
introduced by William Stern:
Problem with different mental ages as
people got older:
Standard Average Score
Lewis Terman
Why he did it:
Terman believed in eugenics
Eugenics: a social movement aimed at improving the human
species through selective breeding…promoted higher
reproduction rates of people with ‘superior’ traits, and aimed to
reduce reproduction rates of people with ‘inferior’ traits.
Self fulfilling prophecy- teachers expectations for a student
influences that student’s self image and performance
David Wechsler
Wechsler developed the
Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale (WAIS) and later the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale
for Children (WISC), and the
Weschsler Preschool and
Primary Scale of Intelligence
(WPPSI)
*Addressed language and age
* Most widely used IQ tests today
WAIS
WAIS measures overall intelligence and two sub tests –
performance tasks & verbal tasks. 11 other aspects
related to intelligence that are designed to assess clinical
and educational problems.
Separates scores for verbal comprehension, perceptual
organization, working memory, and processing speed
Myers-Briggs Inventory
• Personality Inventory
• “Forced Choice” Test
• Asked to choose which of three
statements is most representative of your
thoughts, feelings or behaviors in many
given situations
– 4 letter results
• Unreliable results
Modern Tests
• Achievement Tests - assess what a person
has learned; reflects
– AP Test
• Aptitude Tests - designed to predict a
person’s future performance
– Aptitude- capacity to learn; SAT
Achievement tests assess current performance and aptitude
tests predict future performance and can be “paper and
pencil” or “performance based”
Modern Tests
• Group Tests - given to many people at once
• Individual Tests - given in a one-on-one setting
• Speed Tests - timed consisting of more item than
a typical person can answer
– Relies on Fluid Intelligence
• Power Tests - items become increasing difficult
as the test goes on
– Upper limit
Principles of Test Construction
For a psychological test to be acceptable it must
fulfill the following three criteria:
1. Standardization
2. Reliability
3. Validity
Standardization
Given in the same manner, at the same time, with
the same instructions, etc.
Norms - Standardizing a test involves
administering the test to a representative sample of
future test takers in order to establish a basis for
meaningful comparison.
Normal Curve
Standardized tests establish a normal distribution
of scores on a tested population in a bell-shaped
pattern called the normal curve.
(James )Flynn Effect
In the past 60 years, intelligence scores have risen
steadily by an average of 27 points while the SAT
score has dropped. This phenomenon is known
as the Flynn effect.
Nutrition, stimulating surroundings, increased access to
schooling, and a focus on testing
Reliability
A test is reliable when it yields consistent results. To
establish reliability researchers establish different
procedures:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Split-half Reliability: Dividing the test into two
equal halves and assessing how consistent the scores
are.
Test-Retest Reliability: Using the same test on two
occasions to measure consistency.
Equivalent Form Reliability: does the score correlate
with the score you received on another test of the
same material
Inter-rater Reliability: one graders score correlates
with another graders score;
Intra-rater Reliability: same grader gives the same
score twice
Validity
Reliability of a test does not ensure validity.
Validity of a test refers to what the test is supposed
to measure or predict; accuracy.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Content Validity: Refers to the extent a test measures the
material; a particular behavior or trait
Face Validity: does the test seem to evaluate what it claims to
evaluate
Construct Validity: does the assessment evaluate the
operational definition
Criterion Validity: do results from the assessment correlate
with other similar assessments
Predictive Validity: Refers to the function of a test in
predicting a particular behavior or trait.


Predictive power diminishes as students get older; narrower the
range
SAT less than +.5
Extremes of Intelligence
A valid intelligence test divides two groups of
people into two extremes: the mentally retarded (IQ
70) and individuals with high intelligence (IQ 135).
These two groups are significantly different.
High Intelligence
Contrary to popular belief, people with high
intelligence test scores tend to be healthy, well
adjusted, and unusually successful academically.
May appear to be more isolated, introverted, or
appear in their own worlds
Mental Retardation
Mentally retarded (intellectual disability)
individuals required constant supervision a few
decades ago, but with a supportive family
environment and special or mainstreamed
education they can now care for themselves.
Down Syndrome
Genetic Influences
Identical Twin Studies- similar test scores
Similar gray matter- neural cell bodies
Polygenetic – many genes appear to be involved
Environmental Influences
Studies of twins and adopted children also show
the following:
1. Fraternal twins raised together tend to show
similarity in intelligence scores.
2. Identical twins raised apart show slightly less
similarity in their intelligence scores than
identical twins raised together.
 Some environmental effects
Adoption Studies
Adopted children show a marginal correlation in
verbal ability to their adopted parents.
Genetic influences- not environmental ones- become
more apparent as we accumulate life experiences
Heritability
The variation in intelligence test scores
attributable to genetics. We credit heredity with
50% of the variation (difference between
individuals) in intelligence.
It pertains only to why people differ from one
another, not to the individual.
Our genes shape the experiences that shape us.
Early Intervention Effects
Early neglect from caregivers leads children to
develop a lack of personal control over the
environment, and it impoverishes their intelligence.
J. McVicker Hunt found Romanian orphans with minimal
human interaction were delayed in their development. He
implemented tutored human enrichment.
Schooling Effects
Schooling is an experience that pays dividends,
which is reflected in intelligence scores. Increased
schooling correlates with higher intelligence scores.
To increase readiness for schoolwork,
projects like Head Start facilitate leaning.
Group Differences in Intelligence
Test Scores
Why do groups differ in intelligence? How can we
make sense of these differences?
Gender Similarities and Differences
There are several ways in which males and females
differ in various abilities.
1. Girls are better spellers
2. Girls are verbally fluent and have large vocabularies
3. Girls are better at locating objects
4. Girls are more sensitive to touch, taste, and color
5. Boys outnumber girls in counts of underachievement
6. Boys outperform girls at math problem solving, but
under perform at math computation
7. Women detect emotions more easily than men do
8. Boys earn more science and math degrees
9. Boys have better spatial abilities (video games)
Ethnic Similarities and Differences
To discuss this issue we begin with two disturbing
but agreed upon facts:
1. Racial groups differ in their average intelligence
scores.
2. High-scoring people (and groups) are more
likely to attain high levels of education and
income.
Racial (Group) Differences
If we look at racial differences, white Americans
score higher in average intelligence than black
Americans (Avery and others, 1994). European New
Zealanders score higher than native New
Zealanders (Braden, 1994).
White-Americans
Black-Americans
Average IQ = 100
Average IQ = 85
Hispanic Americans
Environmental Effects
Differences in intelligence among these groups are
largely environmental, as if one environment is more
fertile in developing these abilities than the other.
We are the same under our skin!
Reasons Why Environment Affects
Intelligence
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Races are remarkably alike genetically.
Race is a social category; stereotypical?
Asian students outperform North American students
on math achievement and aptitude tests.
Today’s better prepared populations would outperform
populations of the 1930s on intelligence tests.
White and black infants tend to score equally well on
tests predicting future intelligence.
Different ethnic groups have experienced periods of
remarkable achievement in different eras.
The Question of Bias
Aptitude tests are necessarily biased in the sense
that they are sensitive to performance differences
caused by cultural differences. A valid aptitude test
will detect inequalities.
However, aptitude tests are not biased in the sense
that they accurately predict performance of one
group over the other.
Test-Takers’ Expectations
A stereotype threat is a self-confirming concern
that one will be evaluated based on a negative
stereotype; which will cause them to perform
poorly on the test
This phenomenon appears in some instances in
intelligence testing among African-Americans
and among women of all colors.